21st Century Toys 21C10117S1 US Quad Fifty Anti-Aircraft Gun and Trailer - Olive Drab (1:18 Scale)"In war there is no second prize for the runner-up."- General Omar Bradley

AAA battalions were used to help suppress ground targets during WWII. Their larger 90 mm M3 gun would prove, as did the eighty-eight, to make an excellent anti-tank gun as well, and was widely used late in the war in this role. For smaller targets, the U.S. Army made use of its Quad-4 halftracks, which were truck-mounted turrets equipped with 4 parallel-mounted 50 mm machine guns. These weapons, though few in number, played a significant role in beating back the Germans in their run for Antwerppes through the Ardennes Forest, usually referred to as the Battle of the Bulge. Attached or nearby General Patton's Third Army when he began his unprecedented race to Bastogne, about a dozen Quad-50 units were used to, among other tasks, literally open up "holes" in the dense forest with their 4 parallel machine guns through which some minimal visibility was made possible.

First deployed during the end of WWII and then again in the Korean War, the Maxom quadruple .50 caliber AA machine gun mount was called "Meat Chopper" because of its impressive firepower when used against human wave attacks.

Historical Account: "Meat Choppers" - The M16 was the standard US Army light antiaircraft vehicle used following the Normandy invasion with every armored division having an AAA Weapons Company with eight M16s. These units were often used to protect key sites dumps from enemy air attack. By the end of the war the general absence of the Luftwaffe meant that these M16s could be used in a ground support role, where they earned the nickname "meat-choppers."